FOREWORD 



ing to be done in it. I am quite satisfied he saw 

 chances for improvement on every hand. .God 

 had placed there the material for the first gar- 

 dener to work with, but He had wisely left it for 

 the other to do with it what he thought best, when 

 actuated by the primal instinct which makes gar- 

 deners of so many, if not the most, of us when 

 the opportunity to do so comes our way. 



I do not advocate the development of the 

 aesthetic features of the home from the stand- 

 point of dollars and cents. I urge it because 

 I believe it is the duty of the home-owner to make 

 it as pleasant as it can well be made, and because 

 I believe in the gospel of beauty as much as I 

 believe in the gospel of the Bible. It is the re- 

 ligion that appeals to the finer instincts, and calls 

 out and develops the better impulses of our 

 nature. It is the religion that sees back of every 

 tree, and shrub, and flower, the God that makes 

 all things — ^the God that plans — the God that 

 expects us to make the most and the best of all 

 the elements of the good and the beautiful which 

 He has given into our care. 



In the preparation of this book I have had in 

 mind the fact that comparatively few home- 

 owners who set about the improvement of the 

 home-grounds know what to do, and what to 



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